Established at the University of Notre Dame in 1883, the Laetare Medal was conceived as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor that dates from the 11th century. The award honors an individual who "has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church, and enriched the heritage of humanity.”
The honorees are Andrea Porter of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Howard Henderson at Texas Southern University in Houston, Jackie Sibblies Drury of the Yale School of Drama, Mary Frances Early of the University of Georgia, and Robert J. Rivers Jr. of Princeton University in New Jersey.
The honorees are Nafissa Thompson-Spires of the University of Illinois, Gregory S. Carr of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Tayari Jones of Emory University in Atlanta, Jamilla Lyiscott of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Wilma Mishoe of Delaware State University, and Vinette Gordon of Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
Keisha N. Blain, an assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Pittsburgh, was honored by the Organization of American Historians for her book on 20th-century Black women nationalists.
The honorees are Mary Atwater, a professor in the department of mathematics and science education at the University of Georgia and James L. Moore III, Distinguished Professor of Urban Education and vice provost for diversity and inclusion at Ohio State University.
The honorees are Anita Hill, a professor at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, Barbara Lofton of the College of Business at the University of Arkansas, and Steve D. Mobley an assistant professor of education at the University of Alabama.
Uju Anya is an assistant professor of education and research affiliate for the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. The award recognizes a scholar whose first book represents outstanding work in the field of applied linguistics.
The honorees are Shaun R. Harper, professor of business and education at the University of Southern California, Muyinatu Bell, an assistant professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and D'Andra Orey, a professor of political science at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
The honorees are David L. Shabazz, an assistant professor of journalism at Kentucky State University, and James L. Moore III, professor of urban education, vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Ohio State University.
The honorees are Geffrey Davis, an assistant professor of English who teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Arkansas and Bette Simmons, vice president of student development and enrollment management at County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey.
The award-winning book is the first in a series that follows the story of a young Black girl named Winnie, whose relationship with the God she calls Papa empowers her to live with remarkable love, curiosity, and bravery.
The honorees are Brian Culp, a professor in College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, Keith Berry, dean of academic affairs of the Ybor City campus of Hillsborough Community College in Florida, and Mary E. Silas, former president of Kentucky State University.
Nancy Randolph Davis, the first African-American student to attend what was then Oklahoma A&M College, has been honored with a life-size sculpture outside the College of Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University.
The award recognizes the outstanding work of rising African-American fiction writers. Brinkley's book is a collection of nine short stories set in familiar places from his childhood, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. The author is the Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University.
Dr. Margaret Clark began her teaching career at the University of Arkansas in 1969 and taught world languages and education. Dr. Gordon Morgan was hired as an assistant professor in the department of sociology in 1969 and eventually worked his way up to the rank of University Professor.
Professor Brady was the first African American to earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. He will be honored with plaques at the University of Illinois, where he earned his doctorate, and at schools where he served on the faculty: Fisk University, Tuskegee University, Howard University, and Tougaloo College.
Berenecea J. Eanes, vice president for student affairs at California State University, Fullerton, was honored by NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and Talitha M. Washington, associate professor of mathematics at Howard University won the Black Engineer of the Year STEM Innovator Award.
The honorees are Mercy Mumba of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, Paulette Brown Bracey, professor of library science at North Carolina Central University, and LaDelle Olion, professor of special education at Fayetteville State Univeraity in North Carolina.
Natasha Trethewey, the Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University, has been named one of two new chancellors of the American Academy of Poets. Since it was formed in 1946, only 115 poets have been elected to the academy.
In September of 2018, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute selected Angela Davis to receive the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award at its annual gala in February. That decision has now been changed and the event has been cancelled. Dr. Davis believes her support of Palestinian rights prompted the decision.